If you’re watching the remake of ‘Vale Tudo’, you’ve probably seen a scene of the famous Penthouse Building at the opening of the soap opera. A symbol of social inequality, the building erected in 1979 by the Lindenberg construction company is the star of several scandals, and is even linked to the Lava Jato investigation.
Despite the debts, the building at 3891 Avenida Giovanni Gronchi was originally designed to be the address of millionaires. For this reason, the rise and fall of the Penthouse has been the subject of debate for over 20 years.
The history of the Penthouse Building
You’ve probably come across an image of it in a geography textbook. Inside the huge apartments of almost 400 m², you’ll find private swimming pools on the balconies and panoramic views of the Morumbi neighborhood, one of São Paulo’s best addresses. Despite this, the place currently looks somewhat abandoned.
In the 1980s, it was synonymous with luxury and power, while Paraisópolis – the community that contrasts with the building – was just a small cluster of houses separated by a vast green area, until they developed in a disorderly fashion, making the area as we know it today and even sharing a wall with the Penthouse itself.
On one side, luxury swimming pools; on the other, one of the largest communities in Brazil
If you’re interested in buying a unit in the Penthouse Building, know that the apartments go up for auction for less than a third of their market value. Even so, the debts, which amount to around 600,000 reais in IPTU, contribute to the abandonment of the site.
In addition, the condominium fee exceeds 5,000 reais. Renting a four-bedroom apartment with a Jacuzzi costs around R$1,500 a month. All this, together with residents’ defaults, poor condominium management and prejudice against the area, has made Penthouse what we know it to be today.